The present invention is directed to an apparatus for alleviating pain and helping to prevent exacerbation of injury due to hyper-extension of the metatarso phalangeal joint of the great toe, especially by athletes, so that the person may continue to function somewhat normally until the injury has rehabilitated.
In many athletic events and in some types of non-athletic occupations, the first metatarsophalangeal joint (MP joint) becomes injured because the great toe is suddenly hyper-extended. Such an injury stemming from a sudden hyper-extension can vary in degree, the joint capsule can be torn from the metatarsal head, articular cartilage damage can occur, or sometimes a fracture of the bone structure can occur. This injury is commonly referred to as "Turf-toe" because of its increased regularity since the introduction of artificial turf. Turf toe injuries are common in many types of athletic events such as football, soccer and basketball, especially when the athlete is forced toward the ground with the heel in the air causing the MP joint to take all of weight. Such types of injuries result from the combination of the new artificial playing surfaces and flexible types of sport footwear.
A sprain of the MP joint can be debilitating in that the great toe is very important in weight bearing, and the proximal joint must bear the brunt of every step. Turf-toe injuries can be extremely painful and typically require at least six weeks to rehabilitate. During the rehabilitation period, an athlete or worker may be in such severe pain from the injury whenever the toe extends upward that they may not be able to walk on the foot, even for normal use. Without some type of device for restricting hyper-extension, an athlete, who applies greater flexure to the toe during sporting events, is essentially unable to perform during the rehabilitation period.
Athletic trainers have devised a taping system that is utilized to secure the great toe in a plantar flexed position utilizing yoke-like strips of adhesive tape which are wrapped around the toe and secured to the foot in such a fashion to hold the toe in the plantar flexed state. By plantar flexion is meant that the toe is pulled downwardly toward the sole of the foot such that the distal tip of the great toe is urged downwardly and slightly rearwardly due to rotation relative to the remainder of the foot. By maintaining the great toe in the plantar flexed position, less stress is placed upon the supporting structures that prevent hyper-extension of the toe and pain is sufficiently prevented to the extent that the injured person can perform at least at a reduced level of ability at either athletic activities or work.
Unfortunately, the taping method of plantar flexing the big toe is very time consuming and cannot normally be accomplished by the injured person. Consequently, an athletic trainer may have to spend as much as fifteen minutes taping each injured toe and the tape is removed each day. When the person is involved in athletic events, this means that the trainer must spend a substantial amount of time for each practice session and each athletic event. Where multiple persons are injured the trainer may have insufficient time to tape the toes and also do the other activities required of the trainer. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a self applied device that relieves turf toe injury preventing or at least substantially reducing the likelihood of hyper-extension of the toe and to provide a device that can be applied relatively quickly and easily to hold the toe in the plantar flexed position.